Rock and Role

When pop culture mates with Shakespeare, the hybrid seems to work rather well on the big screen. Case in point: Director Baz Luhrmanns visually stunning Romeo + Juliet. So with any luck, the mash-up should be equally successful on the stage -- especially if the pop culture papa in question is Elvis Presley.

Enter Arizona Broadway Theatres production of All Shook Up, which melds Shakespeares Twelfth Night with The Kings famous tunes. Isnt it great how music can get into your soul and change you? asks director Robert Kolby Harper, paraphrasing one of the characters lines. If youve read Twelfth Night, you know what kind of gender-bending change to expect here.

The show follows handsome hero Chad, a motorcycle-riding James Dean-esque rebel who stops by a small town auto repair shop to get his ride fixed. The catch? His mechanic turns out to be a girl in disguise, who falls head over heels for her latest client.